In the bad old days, it wasn't unheard of for a police officer to walk away from a domestic violence call, reasoning that the woman would be better off with her husband than without him.

That type of practice is in the past, but now some lawmakers want to apply it to investigations of abuse of disabled people. Somehow, the thinking goes, interviewing them might do more harm than not pursuing a case. They would add a level of bureaucracy to the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs to determine if someone should be interviewed. And who would they rely on? Why, the disabled person's care team, generally — which may well be in on the suspected abuse.

The abuses of the disabled are a scandal, and this bill would be one, too.